Fighting the Demon
by Rejected-Nickel
Summary: Nicole must figure out what she must do to fight whatever is attacking her town. Then she must get the courage to actually do it.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

1

"Sometimes I get so scared. I turn the television off and run to my room, climbing up the ladder leading to my bed as fast I can. I curl into a ball in the corner of my bed, against my wall, with the blankets over my head. No one can get me then." I looked at him.

"You must think I'm a coward."

"No," I replied, "I do that too." He smiled.

"Follow your instincts," I said, "It can save your life." His smile vanished.

"I'm going to bed," he said, getting up off the couch. He moved his blonde hair out of his dark green eyes and looked at me. He opened his mouth to say something then shut it with a snap. He walked to his room. I heard the door slam shut.

You don't have to be any age to realize that you're scared of something that you believe is out there. He's sixteen and still afraid of the dark.

2

_What did she mean?_ He thought. _It could save my life. _

He heard her foot falls down the hall, stop momentarily, then hurry into her room. The door slammed shut and locked.

_What's _she_ in a hurry for?_

He threw the covers off and began to descend down his ladder. His nightlight flickered and he stopped.

_Sometimes it does that._

(_No it doesn't)_

He touched the floor gingerly with his foot, making sure not to touch any left over food with his bare foot. All safe. He walked to his door, avoiding miscellaneous objects scattered throughout the floor, and stopped. He had reached the door but felt something. He put his hand on the door knob and in that instant something fell with a loud crash. He turned around instantly and seen it was just a cup.

_Must have been on the verge of falling anyway, _he thought.

(_No, it wasn't)_

He turned the knob and opened the door slowly, making sure not to make any noise. The lights were off.

He walked out holding his breath.

_The lights are off,_ he thought again, as he walked past the bathroom. Something brushed against him, and he jumped. He turned around and seen the bathroom door opened, along with his sisters room.

"Nicole?" He asked shakily. He tried to swallow but his mouth was too dry. "Nicole?" He asked again.

That was enough for him. He ran back to his room.

3

After he left she stared at her friend's living room wall. She let out a deep sigh and lifted herself from the couch. She looked around for her shoes. They were amid a pile of paper. She walked over and slipped them on.

She left the house to the trailer where her friend was sleeping.

She hated leaving her friend to talk to her boyfriend, but she loved him. She loved her, too. Sometimes though, she wondered if she was seeing him too much. She wondered if it bothered her;she didn't want her to see him.

_Does it bother-_ She stopped and looked to the left where there was a small forest. The bushes twitched despite the fact that there was no wind.

The moon peeked through gray clouds casting long shadows. They danced and twirled on the ground.

Nicole walked slowly toward the bush, stepping on twigs and leaves as she went. She watched as it continued to twitch making those horrible scratching noises. She stopped once she came within reaching distance of the bush.

It stopped twitching once she placed her hand on the bush. She pulled the bush toward her so she could see what was behind.

4

Nothing could be heard but his shaky unsteady breath. He curled into a ball in the corner of his bed with the covers pulled tightly over his head. The foul smell of his own perspiration wafted through his nose but he didn't dare even peek from under the covers.

His heartbeat quickened and he could feel it pounding in his chest...his throat…his ears…his entire body.

Beads of sweat ran down his forehead, stinging his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly.

_Thump._

He gasped and covered his mouth with a shaky hand. He opened his eyes and looked at the end of his bed beneath his covers.

_There's something there. Oh God, there's something there. _

Just then he felt it come closer.

_Oh please, God , please let this be my imagination._

He felt the covers ripple over his body.

_Please, please, please. Go away, you're not real._

_(I'm as real as it gets.)_

_Please, go away. Please, please, please._

He felt a sharp, cold, refreshing breeze cover his flesh. He closed his eyes.

_It's under here with me. Go away, go away, go away._

He felt something touch his foot gingerly. He recoiled and opened his eyes.

Oh my God! It's- 

5

-the most disgusting thing she ever laid her eyes on. The flesh was practically peeled from the corpse. Flies hovered over the pile of rotting flesh and maggots squirmed from the orifices. It was in the fetal position, hands covering its face. Random pieces of flesh were scattered around the corpse and most of the right side of it's body was peeled clean of it's skin.

The smell twirled into her noise, making her stomach churn.

She turned away from the corpse and threw up until she was dry heaving. She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her over sized sweatshirt and turned back to the corpse.

_It changed positions,_ she thought.

The head was thrown back, almost touching it's mid-back. It's mouth was open.

_(Almost as if it were laughing.)_

She took a step back, in disbelief. That's when she heard his scream.

The Parents. 6

His parents were the first to make it to his room. They heard the scream and scrambled out of bed to investigate. They threw open the door only to discover an empty bed. Frantic, his mother rushed through his room, searching every nook and crevice of his room.

She fell to the floor, a pathetic heap of a woman and began to sob.

His father stood at the doorway. His face showed no emotion. Only at night, when in a deep slumber would he reveal his true feelings. He often woke up, pillow wet and body shaking. He wouldn't remember a thing.

Nicole 7

She ran as fast as she could to his room. The hallway seemed so long. She could make out his father standing at the doorway, as if a statue. The hallway was no more than 9 feet, why did it feel so much longer?

She pushed her way past his father and stopped abruptly when she caught sight of his mother. She looked up at her, pale blue eyes wet and red with tears.

"Where is he?" she asked, shakily. I shook my head.

"No, where is he?"

"I-I don't know."

"Why is he gone? Tell me why is he gone?" She picked herself up and stomped her way toward Nicole. Frightened, she backed against the wall.

"Tell me where he is. Tell me right n-n-now!" A new batch of tears began to overwhelm her. She brought a shaky hand to her mouth and sniffed back a few tears. She let her hand drop down to her side and looked at Nicole, anger blazing in her eyes.

"Tell me where my son is right now." I shook my head again. I really didn't know.

The sister 8

She walked in bleary eyed and still tired. Her hair was a mess and her face was blank.

"I'm going back to bed," she mumbled when she caught sight of all the commotion.

She didn't care, then, and she doesn't care now.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

1

She began to walk home, more like run home. The moon was still out providing her with a shadow. It ran along side her, just as scared as she. Sometimes behind her, sometimes in front, but nevertheless it stuck by her.

The wind rustled the leaves of the trees and whispered her name as she ran past each and every one. They were calling out to her, but she would not respond.

Her heart was beating in her chest. So much that she could hear it in her ears.

She ran through the labyrinth of streets until finally she came down the dirt path leading to her home. She stopped just before she touched the dirt.

She peered down what seemed to be ten miles of dirt road. The trees surrounding continued to call to her.

"_Come into the darkness,"_ they said. She did as they said. She entered the darkness.

2

She was enveloped in darkness. The only things she could make out were the nearest trees beside her, but even then they seemed to be so far off. She walked in silence; the only noise was her feet scraping against the dirt rocks.

Occasionally she would hear a snap of a twig, making her freeze with terror. But then that would be all: just a twig snapping in a forest.

The moon peeked through the forest leaves giving her very little light. She looked side to side in a paranoid panic, expecting something to jump from the tangle of trees to kill her, just as they did her boyfriend. She knew he was dead, she felt it.

She continued to walk every fiber in her body ready for the worst. She felt as if she were to explode with the anxiety of the unknown. But she continued to walk.

Just then she smelt something disgusting, putrid, so very familiar. It made her skin crawl with an unpleasant ease. It was the smell of the rotting corpse. The smell of death.

She stopped where she was and sniffed her surroundings. She was filled with curiosity, rather than fear.

She walked a little farther and discovered the smell was getting stronger. She fought back her urge to throw up, and continued to follow the smell.

3

Walking in the dark isn't fun. Most people get that unsettling feeling that someone is watching them. Someone waiting to tear every limb from their body. Your senses become heightened with fresh panic. Your veins pump pure adrenaline as you fight your urge to run.

But once you see that shred of light, that shred of hope, you relax. You're safe in the light; nothing can get you, at least nothing you can't see.

That's it isn't it? We aren't afraid of the dark itself, we are afraid of what's awaiting inside the darkness. What's waiting for us?

The monster that you imagined when you were so young? Death itself? Your worst fear. That is what is always waiting in the darkness. Fear. The hot feeling that threatens to incinerate your being. Fear. We feed the darkness with our fear. We make it stronger. We make it real.

In the light we are invincible. No monsters dare tread into the light. It's our safety blanket. Our savior. Without light we are hopeless, we are dead, we are nothing. We disintegrate in the darkness. We breathe our last breath in the darkness. And most importantly, we lose our souls in the darkness. Our essence, our sanity. Every emotion we have ever felt is captured within that capsule. And it is all gone, absorbed into the darkness. Because, I think, that's what the darkness really is. Our souls. And we feed those souls with our fear.

4

She couldn't find the source of the smell. No matter how long she walked, she couldn't find it.

Nose in the air, it still seemed to be getting stronger.

The smell of rotten fish. Of maggots crawling their way through the human intestines as it lay rotting. As it lay a pile of flesh and guts, slowly being absorbed into the ground.

It was getting even stronger. It was at its climax. The point at which it could no longer be any stronger.

She turned to her left and seen another corpse.

New forms of life had begun to inhabit themselves upon the flesh of the person. Blood was still leaking from the bodily cavities. Only parts of its face were rotted away. It was hard to distinguish whether it was a female or a male. She looked away and felt what so many people feel when they realize they are alone in the dark. Her spine tingled with hot panic and the hairs on the back of her neck rose to frightening heights.

Once again she ran.

But this time as she ran she felt as if someone were running behind her. No matter how fast she ran they were always behind her.

It didn't matter that the sharp pain began to nest itself in her side. The only important thing was that she run. That she gets the hell out of this place before she became a corpse herself. She could almost feel her flesh rotting as she was thinking these thoughts. She looked at her arms, just in case, and seen that her feelings were right. She was rotting. With a scream of terror, she picked up her pace.

"It's the place," She thought, "only the place. I can't be dying. It's not happening! It's not!" 

As she thought these words her arms seemed to contradict her, she was dying, she was rotting. Then she smelled it again. That awful smell. But she knew where it was coming from.

She seen in the darkness that light that brings everyone so much comfort. She was almost there, almost home.

6

The door was open.

She walked in, not expecting anyone to greet her. It was nearly two in the morning. Her flesh had gone back to normal, but she still felt that tingle as if it were still there. She ran her fingers absentmindedly over the place where her own rotting flesh had been and half expected to feel that slimy, jelly skin peel back.

She walked in her room and flicked the light switch on. It flicked on for a second then flicked back off, allowing her to see someone sitting on her bed. She opened her mouth to scream, but stopped when the light went back on. It was only Kelsey. She had her head down and she was crying. Her short brown hair was a mess and she was still in her pajamas, but she was bleeding really badly. She looked up and Nicole could almost see the death painted on her face.

"Nicole…" She trailed off. She wanted to approach her, to give her a hug, but there was no definite answer to whether she was alive or not. So much crazy shit was happening she couldn't tell between reality and her own wretched fantasies.

"Kelsey, are you…alright?" She didn't want to ask her whether she was dead. That's just what she needed now, a zombie. Kelsey nodded her head.

"It attacked me, Nicole. I didn't know what to do. I-I-" She burst into violent tears. Her act caused a new batch of blood to flow onto Nicole's carpet. She was real.

"Kelsey, what attacked you?" Nicole moved closer.

"I don't know." She had stopped crying and she looked at her innocently. "I'm so scared." Nicole swallowed and tried to think of what to say. She was scared too, but if she revealed that to Kelsey then she was sure that that would make her situation even worse.

"I need you to tell me what happened," Nicole coaxed. Kelsey shook her head vigorously, her eyes widened and she gasped for breath.

"Kelsey, what's-what's wrong?" She calmed down. She took a breath and-

7

-tried to go back to sleep. She'd been up all night on the computer talking to her boyfriend that she didn't realize how late it actually was.

She lay in bed thinking of all the wonderful things they said to each other. He really was a great guy.

She moved so she was lying on her back and looking out her window. The moon was so bright out tonight. The clouds floated endlessly in the sky and the stars watched as they traveled along the never-ending sphere. She took another deep breath and closed her eyes. Her body filled with warmth as she gently drifted into a deep sleep.

She was dreaming about her boyfriend when she heard a scratching at her door. She didn't have any pets. She opened her eyes and listened to the noise.

It continued to scratch. She could almost see the deep marks it was imbedding in her wooden door.

Then the scratching stopped and she heard a new noise. Something fumbling at her doorknob. She could hear the rumble and shaking of the door.

Paralyzed with fear, Kelsey stayed where she was. She closed her eyes and could do nothing but listen to whatever was making the noise. Her heart beat quickened and beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

Then the shaking stopped and her door slowly swung open, creaking and whining as it went. Protesting to this unusual calling.

Head still turned to the window she watched as a shadow slowly grew upon her wall.

_The moon is so bright_, she thought, although when she recalls this story sometime later she has no recollection of ever thinking this.

She closes her eyes again and takes in a deep breath. She holds it in.

She feels something touch her feet gently, but she does not recoil. It slowly moves up her legs and caresses her abdomen. It finally settles for lying on her chest.

She gasps for air, but finds that the mass of this unknown creature is slowly crushing her to death. It lets up just enough for her to catch a few breaths then lies once again on her chest.

Slowly she slips into the darkness and enters euphoria.

_Do you like it here?_ Some unknown voice asks. It is much deeper than any voice she has heard and it frightens her.

"Where?" She asks aloud.

_There's no need for you to speak. We can talk using our minds._

"_Where?" _she asks in her head.

In the darkness, of course. Here. You don't need to breathe or worry. Here in the darkness. She looked around her and discovered that she no longer felt the uncomfortable sensation of anxiety. She felt a tinge of panic, but she wouldn't remember it. "It's ok, I guess. I mean…" 

_What? _It asked. _What's wrong here?_ It sounded almost scared.

"_Well, it's not what I'm used to. That's all. Didn't mean to frighten you." _

_You didn't frighten me. _

"_Well, ok. Can you take me back now?"_

_Why do you want to go back? It's so nice here. No worries…_

"_I know, but I'll miss my friends and family. I don't…I don't want to be here." _She remembered this panic. This one started low at her spine and gnawed its way up.

_No. _

"_What! No you have to." _She felt a sharp pain in her chest and the darkness began to turn a little gray, then it turned back to black.

"I don't want to be here!" She screamed. She was frightened now.

NO! 

"Take me back, take me back, take me back! This isn't real; it's not real! I'm in bed asleep. Take me back!"

She opened her eyes and struggled under the unknown weight. The pain returned in her chest and she swam between darkness and reality. She bit her bottom lip until she felt a hot liquid run down her chin.

She fell to the floor gasping for breath. She looked up and couldn't believe what she was seeing. She saw her father. But it wasn't her father, his eyes said so, it was only his body.

"You bein' a bad girl?" He asked.

"No, daddy," Kelsey answered instinctively. He took a step closer and Kelsey seen it wasn't her father. But it was too late. He hit her across the face with his open hand. Fresh blood spilled down her chin.

"Do I need to whip you?" He began to take off his belt.

"No!" Kelsey screamed. All her childhood fear resurfaced, but she seen her fathers body begin to disintegrate and turn into what it really was. It was a mutant. It's skin was black and charred, as if it were burned. It's eyes were the only thing you could really see. Red as blood. Red as her blood. Instead of a belt it held a whip. Its tiny little head was bald. It walked with a hunch.

She gasped with fear and tried to get up. It threw the whips end at her and successfully hit her thigh. Blood hit the floor with a horrible _splat!_ It felt as if razors were cutting her thigh open.

She pulled herself up, despite the pain, and ran.

She ran into the kitchen, fully aware that something was behind her and turned on the light.

The mutant uttered a yelp of pain and scurried into the living room where there was no light. It watched Kelsey with it's menacing eyes. It raised two fingers in a V-shape to its mouth and stuck its tongue out in an obscene gesture. It cackled then disappeared. Disgusted, Kelsey grabbed a flashlight and ran outside.

8

Nicole was for loss of words. She thinks she may have seen this so called "mutant" before. She remembered what she had seen behind the bushes. How its back was still hunched when it had changed positions.

"_But could that possibly be what Kelsey was talking about? Could that "mutant" have left Kelsey's house and come for me?" _She didn't share her thoughts with Kelsey. This was too much for her already. Kelsey had stopped crying. Nicole cleansed her wound for her and she was slowly drifting into sleep.

"Don't let it get me, Nicole. Please, not again. Leave the lights on, it hates the light. The dark…it loves the dark…the dark…" That's when she left Nicole to her own thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

1

She woke up in the morning and disregarded last night's events as some crazy dream. Her mind argued, but she finally won.

It was a dream until she sat up and looked at Kelsey.

She was sitting on her bed rocking back and forth, knees clutched tightly to her chest. She looked tired like she hadn't gotten much sleep.

"Kelsey…" Nicole pulled herself up from the floor and walked cautiously toward her.

"Kelsey…" she repeated. She twitched her head in her direction and looked at her. She stopped rocking and stared at Nicole. Her eyes were filled with an emotion that she couldn't detect. It seemed to be filled with fear, or want. They were pleading to be saved.

"It wants me," she whimpered. Her eyes filled with frightened tears. "It won't leave me alone, Nicole, make it stop. Nicole please-" She hugged her knees tighter into her chest. "You have to help me, Nicole. We have to-to stop it. It won't stop until it's satisfied. I don't know what to do; it's driving me crazy. I'm going crazy, all these thoughts, they won't stop-"

"What thought's Kelsey?" Nicole interrupted.

"Of Him." She shuddered. "The dark…He like's the dark…the darkness…"

"Kelsey calm down." Nicole touched her arm and quickly drew back. She was so cold. Kelsey swallowed and looked at Nicole. Her big brown eyes were wet with tears and pleading for her to make it stop.

"He's going to kill me." She took a deep, shaky breath. "You know what He does?" She asked.

Nicole swallowed hard. She didn't want to know. "What?"

"He came from somewhere dark, somewhere horrible. His-his master or whatever you call it, he-he wants Him to kill us. Humans. I-I think it's the battle of two worlds. Heaven and Hell. I might not be right, but that's as close to an explanation I can get to. I saw him. Your-your boyfriend-" I gasped. I couldn't help it."- He-he was rotting on one side, but completely whole on the other.

"I walked up to him and said, "What happened?" He turned toward me and pointed to an opening. Nicole, it was so dark, but it was so hot.

"Get away," he said to me. "Tell her to stop it." I think he was talking about you Nicole. He told me to get away and for you to stop it. I won't leave you, though. Never." She paused to swallow then began again:

"I told him this. I said I wouldn't leave you. He grabbed me by the arm.

"You don't want this," he said. You should have seen the look in his eyes. I almost considered leaving, but I changed my mind.

"No," I said firmly, "I'm sticking with Nicole." He shook my arm then led me into the entrance. It was dark, but I could see everything. It was like a cave, it was so hot, so very hot. There were these-these things that were running around. Some were, I don't know, but they seemed to be working. It was so horrible, Nicole, there were humans there, Nicole, live humans. Some were rotting away; there-there-there limbs were falling off. They were crying out in pain. Some were scared. The-the demon things, some were working, but others were taunting. They would laugh and-and some would touch them, the humans. Nicole, once they touched them their skin would peel away…fall off. It was so horrible.

"Do you want this? Do you want to be here?" he asked me. I shook my head.

"Then get away."

"I'm not leaving her," I said. He lead me back out. It got cold again." And as to confirm this Kelsey gave a small shiver.

"He looked at me again. And I could see his skin rotting. Peeling away and falling off. He pulled me close to his face and I could smell him. Oh God, it was so disgusting. He pulled me close and said:

"She is the only one that can stop this. Everything will be ok, but you won't survive. Believe me Kelsey," he shook my shoulder and more of his skin fell with a grotesque splat. "Don't follow her. She will know what to do. Don't end up like me."

She looked at me.

"You're the one, Nicole. But I won't let anything hurt you, so I'm sticking by you, no matter what." She trembled and began to cry, hugging her knees tighter.

"How-how did you see him?" I asked, tentatively. She looked at me, as if it were plain and simple.

"Outside your house," she said.

2

Kelsey fell back asleep sometime later. She curled into a ball in the corner of Nicole's bed, blankets over her head. Just like Nicole's dead boyfriend.

Nicole, meanwhile, stayed awake. She was in no mood to sleep. She picked up her phone and dialed Logan's number. It rang and rang.

"Hello?" A groggy voice answered from the other line. Nicole let out a sigh of relief.

"Logan, hey it's Nicole. Listen…I need your help," her voice sounded far away. As if it didn't belong to her.

"With what?" He asked. He was still tired and a little aggravated at the thought of getting a call this early in the morning. Especially on the weekend.

"With Kelsey. Listen I need you to come over here. Don't worry, my mom and my brother are at work, so we have the house to our-" she stopped and realized what she was about to say. No one was here. Anything could just come out and eat them up.

"Nicole?" Logan's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Nicole, are you still there?"

"Uh, yeah, just come over here. Ok?" There was an annoyed sigh from the other line.

"Yeah, I'll be right over." She turned the phone off and looked at Kelsey.

She was sleeping soundly.

What she said made perfect sense to her, but she didn't want to accept it.

_Did he really come to her? _She wondered. She felt a sickening pain in her chest. She missed him for the first time since he was gone. She sighed and held back whatever tears were trying to surface.

She stood up and put the phone back on its charger. Then it rang. She picked it up.

"Hello?" She asked into the receiver.

"Nicole, open your door, I'm outside," Logan's breaths were coming in short gasping intervals, as if he were running.

"Really you're already here?" I said as I walked to the door. I unlocked it and opened it.

3

Logan and Kelsey started dating after a memorable get together. A camping trip in fact. There was excessive flirting until it came to a point where they realized they loved each other. Exstactic Kelsey cornered me into the bathroom.

"He likes me, Nicole! He asked me out!" she squealed.

"That's great," I said. She sighed and looked up at the sky.

"God, he's great." I smiled.

They continued to cuddle with each other, giving each other warm smiles from across the table.

Alyssa didn't like it. After all, one of her friends was already going out with her brother. Her brother for God sakes! It disgusted her. She was growing to hate her friends with their foolish acts.

She watched from afar as she seen her best friend talking with her brother and her other best friend snuggling close to her brother's friend. Her malice welled in her chest and spread through her body like some sick form of cancer. It deteriorated her body and ate whatever it could feed on. It infested itself upon her whole being and turned her into something viscous. Hate itself.

She cried the first night she seen them together. How they excluded her. They didn't even ask her if she wanted to come and join, they just left.

"_How could they do that to me?"_ she thought. "_Why would they do that?"_

_They don't care about you_ a voice answered for her, one not at all like her own. But it didn't answer in her head. It answered in her ear. She opened her eyes and sat bolt right up.

"_Who are you?"_ she asked.

No one in particular. But believe me, I know they don't care. I listen to them. They talk about you. They don't like you; they want to rid of you. Don't let them. Don't let them get what they want….

The voice faded. That's where it all started. That's when she snapped. She was lost.

5

No one was there. Nicole stepped outside and looked around. Logan liked to do stupid stuff like this.

"Where are you?" She asked. Something laughed from the other line. It wasn't Logan. Hot panic ran through her veins at the realization of this. She dropped the phone and closed the door, knowing that nothing would stop whatever it was from getting in.

_Him, she referred to it as Him,"_ She thought absently. Heart beating she stood against the door for sometime, hoping nothing would pop out and scare. Then she remembered Kelsey. Alone in the room, unprotected. At this thought she ran into my room. She burst through the door and seen what Kelsey had been talking about except in a different form. It was a ghastly figure. It hovered over her body. She lay on her back, stiff as a board. She wasn't breathing and her eyes her rolled back so far the only thing you could see were the whites. She saw Kelsey struggle and take in a deep breath, but then go back to her original state. She was fighting it.

"Hey! Hey, you!" Nicole yelled. She was surprised to hear her own voice. "Hey!" The figure turned it's head and Nicole seen it's evil eyes. It glared at her, torn between finishing the work it had begun and killing this new girl. Nicole smiled and it gave up a bit. Kelsey struggled more and took in three more breaths.

"Get off," Nicole said. She took a step forward and seen something in it's eyes. A look of uncertainty. She smiled again. Kelsey continued to struggle, getting more and more air.

With a look of hate it completely let off and hovered a few feet away from Nicole. Kelsey sat upright and gulped in as much air as she could get until she began to get lightheaded. She looked at Him and Nicole. Nicole looked confident, not at all scared, but so did He.

"Go away," Nicole said.

"No," it growled. That was the first time Nicole heard it speak and she hoped never to hear that wretched voice again.

"Go away!" she bellowed. Something emitted from her body, it wasn't human. Kelsey watched in awe and realized there was something black forming on her wall just behind Him. She watched as the anger began to rise in Nicole and the fears in her dissipate.

Nicole took another step forward. That's when He retreated into the black hole that had fully formed on Nicole's wall.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

1

Freak accident in the town of Burien

Anna Harrison

Logan McClure, age 17, was found dead at noon on August 15. Sources say they seen him walking down 136th before the accident.

"He was walkin' down the street mindin' his own damn business," says Ben Dowry, a construction worker who was working on a nearby sidewalk at the time of the accident, "when all of a sudden this car swerves outta nowheres. I swear, God as my witness, I seen that boy fly fifty feet." Ben Dowry wasn't the only one who seen the accident. Kady Morris, age 67, was walking on the opposite sidewalk near Ben Dowry when she seen the accident.

"I was on my afternoon walk, as usual, when I seen the sidewalk up ahead was under construction. I waited to cross the street to the other sidewalk, when I hear this God-awful noise. I look up and see a car swerve onto the sidewalk. It hit him."

Ambulances and police cars rushed to the scene to find Logan McClure dead upon the spot. The driver who was babbling incoherently at the moment was taken to a local police station for interrogation.

Policeman Brady O'harris says: "Mr. Henderson seemed just as confused as we were. This is often a tactic that most people use, however, when asked to go over his daily schedule he got as far as just before the accident when he started shrieking."

Mr. Henderson was admitted to the Highline Mental Institute where professionals tried to fathom what he was screaming about. Unable to, they sedated him and sent him to his room where he could calm down.

Psychiatrist Ms. Borens was unable to find the cause of his breakdown. "We have yet to understand this unusual episode"

Mr. Henderson has no history of mental illness in his family. When asking a family member, who will remain anonymous, what might have brought about this strange episode we were given an answer that doesn't explain his crude actions. "James was normal. He worked for a local hospital in Burien; he had a wife and two children. There was nothing to worry about. As a child he was normal. As a teenager he was normal. And as a young adult he was normal. You could depend on James."

So what brought about his homicidal actions?

2

James walked to his car and searched for the right key for his sedan. He went over the mental list he had created for these morning's tasks and checked each one off.

Always meticulous, he checked his rear view mirrors and buckled himself in. He took one final look in the mirror and backed out of his driveway.

3

James grew up in Mapton, Washington. His single mother struggled to pay for her four children. Being a single mother wasn't very common where they lived. Every family had a mother and a father. She was beginning to get discouraged. She loved her children, but her income wasn't enough to pay for all of them.

James was adopted into a new family. He packed his bags into the car, held a firm face, he didn't want his mom to cry, and got in. The lady was nice enough, but not enough to make him feel comfortable. She turned on the ignition and began to pull out of the driveway. James turned around to take one last look at his home that he had grown up in and seen his sister running out from behind the back yard.

"Jimmy, no!" She yelled as she was running. "Don't take him, please, don't take him! No!" The car pulled away and was driving down the road when young James burst into hysterical tears. His sister continued to run down the road after the car screaming all the way. When the car stopped at a stop sign she just caught up with them. She banged on the backseat window.

"Jimmy, don't go!" She yelled. Her tears showed rivulets on her grimy face. "Don't let It take you, fight It, Jimmy! Fight It!" She pressed her fingers to her lips and placed her hand on the window. Jimmy placed his hand on the window where hers was and felt something pass between them. Her hand slipped away as the car began to move again.

He watched her standing in the middle of the dirt road. Her black hair was plaited and misted with dirt. She was long and lanky. She became a dot in the desert. She was gone.

4

James went down the usual way he always went for work. He didn't have anything planned. It was a Saturday and he had to work a little overtime for his sick leave he took. But nothing out of the ordinary.

He turned onto the highway and sped up a bit. He watched the scenery out of the corner of his eye. The trees blurred together with the baby blue sky. Scarce clouds floated in the mid-August sky. James always like the scenery, it was so peaceful.

He turned off into exit 27 onto 136th.

_God, what a beautiful day, _he thought to himself. He looked up at the sky while he was waiting for the light to change. He watched a nearby bird fly in graceful circles onto a tree branch. Then something caught his eye. He squinted his eyes so he could get a better look at it.

It was something he'd never seen before. It was sitting on the branch with the bird. But it's body, Oh God, its body seemed to be charred. No it was charred. He watched in awe as it reached for the bird and snatched it. Pieces of its flesh glittered to the ground. It held it close to its face turning it in every angle. It loosened its grip and held it out in front of James. It made a gesture for him to take it.

Frightened James hit the gas. He sped down 136th until he finally calmed down.

"_It was just my imagination," _he thought to himself. "Just my imagination," he repeated to himself out loud.

"Yeah, just your imagination," a voice said from the back seat. He turned his head expecting to see the strange person, or whatever the hell that thing was, but seen the bird instead. Perplexed he began to pull over.

The bird flew at him and began to peck at his face. Suddenly he remembered when he was a child. He'd gone out into the woods with his little brother, Steven. He found a nest of eggs and began to inspect them. He began to turn his head to tell Steven his new discovery when the mother began to peck at him. Scared and panicked James flung himself to the hearth and tried to hit the bird in order to scare it off. The bird, angered at him for touching her babies, continued to peck at him furiously.

"_Oh God, it's just the like the movie Birds," _he thought over and over. He rolled and rolled for what seemed like hours when finally she subsided and went back to her nest.

"_This is exactly the same thing,"_ he thought. Now, in the present, James swerved the car hoping the bird would subside. The bird gave one hard peck at his eye. He didn't notice until he felt a hot liquid run down his face. He looked down his shirt with his one good eye and seen a white fluid running down his freshly ironed shirt. He opened his mouth to scream when the rest of the liquid fell out with a _plop!_ The bird, satisfied with it's attack began to peck at his neck.

James let go of the wheel and flailed his arms maniacally. Fresh, warm liquid ran down his shirt. He screamed in terror as all his child hood fear rushed through his body. The bird aimed for his other eye, blinding him.

Completely frightened, he screamed even louder. Then it stopped, the bird was gone and he was left alone in his swerving car. He stopped it with a screech and put two shaky hands on the car.

He heard faint sirens in the background, but he was too scared to notice. Then there was a knock on his window. He felt for the handle and opened the door.

"Birds, birds, it-it- birds. It was the bird. Please help it was the bird, I need help I can't see," he screamed. He crawled on the ground feeling for whoever knocked on his window.

"Help!" he screamed, "Please I need help!" Then an arm wrapped itself around his waist and carried him into a vehicle. He continued to cry out, hoping someone would help.

He felt more liquid rush down his throat through the car ride to God knows where. It continued to run as some strange man asked him questions. It continued to run as they were injecting something into his arm. And it continued to run as he lay in a strange bed. He was enveloped in his darkness and felt the fear become absorbed in its atmosphere. He felt his soul slowly lift from his body. He watched from the ceiling.

His eyes were closed and he looked just as he did when he last looked in his car mirror. No blood anywhere. His eyes were still there. He watched dismally as the charred figure stumbled it's way to his dead body. Its body emitted a dark aura that seemed to rot whatever came in its path. It was a male, he noticed. James watched as he gently touched his body. The skin he touched slowly peeled away and slid to the bed. As if He were showing James this, he looked up at James and smiled. He bent over the corpse for a moment or two and then stood up. He looked up at James soul, it's malevolent eyes glittering with crimson hate, and grinned a blood-stained smile. James gasped in terror. The demon lunged for him and wrapped itself around his soul.

James didn't know if it was possible to smell death. Even if you could, could you smell it after you have died? He could smell rotting flesh. Its dank smell hovered over his senses and overpowered him, seeming to paralyze him. James heard Him chuckle as James struggled beneath his grip. He slowly dragged him down. Down into the darkness. Into the fear.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

1

"Nicole that wasn't normal," Kelsey breathed.

"Yeah, it wasn't. Is that what you saw?" Kelsey shook her head viloently.

"No, not that, what happened between you two. What did you do?" Nicole knew what she did. But she didn't know how she did it. Nicole shook her head.

"You-you seen something?" Nicole asked nervously. Kelsey nodded her head.

"What is it Nicole?" She asked in a husky voice much unlike hers. Nicole quickly looked up at her.

"What?" Nicole asked.

"I just wanted to know what you did. Nicole are you ok?" Kelsey looked at her, brow furrowed. She was worried.

"Yeah. I don't know what it was. But I-I didn't get any sleep. Are you going to be alright if I take nap?" Kelsey nodded her head.

"Go ahead, whatever you want. I think I'll head home, my mom is going to be worried. I'll just tell her that I went to your house and she must have forgot, or something. Nicole…" she paused and looked at Nicole, "be careful." Nicole nodded and sat down on her bed with a plop. Kelsey closed the door behind her and before she even opened her outside door Nicole was already asleep.

2

She looked down with all kindness and all compassion. Her face was absolutly beautiful. It was a wonderfully round shape with high cheek bones and rosy cheeks. Her complexion was fair and smooth as marble. Her long brown hair reached to her waist but seemed to go on forever in cascading curls. Her green eyes appeared luminescent and created their own source of warm, kind light. Her pouty red lips formed a smile that revealed dashingly straight teeth. She stretched out a long smooth hand and Nicole took it.

Immediately Nicole was filled with a warm comforting feeling. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to savor the feeling. She smiled when she felt a warmth begin to grow all over her body. She felt as if she were floating and when she opened her eyes she found that she was. She looked at this woman and seen that she had wings. Beautiful, large golden wings. Nicole smiled and the woman smiled back. A wonderfully radiant smile.

Nicole looked around more and seen that she was floating through clouds. The clouds turned from white to pink to blood red.

"What's going on?" Nicole asked. The woman smiled and continued to take her through the clouds. They seemed to be going faster now. Nicole felt the mist of the clouds residue and wiped at her face with her free hand. She looked at her hand and seen that it wasn't normally what a cloud's residue was but it was blood.

"Please, tell me what's going on," Nicole urged. The woman smiled again and continued to lead her faster through the blood formed clouds.

Nicole didn't know how long they had been travelling, but they finally began to slow down until finally they came to a stop. Nicole looked around and opened her mouth in surprise. The woman turned to her and this time she spoke: "This is what is happening," she said. Her voice was so beautiful as if it were singing. "We cannot stop it without assistance. For many years we have been trying to stop this, your years. Our years are different from yours. You along with a few others have been chosen to help finally end this."

"What is it," I asked.

"The barrier will finally be sealed and they will not bother you anymore. Everyone will live in eternal happiness."

"Yes, but what is happening. What do I do?" The woman looked at what Nicole had gaped at. Her face had grown solemn but it was still beautiful. Nicole turned her eyes away from the woman and looked at what she was watching.

Millions of black figures were scuttering around the surface of what looked like a wooded area. Each ones beady eyes met with one another and they grunted with confirmation. Suddenly everything qiuvered. Nicole looked at the woman to ask her what was happening but she didn't have to. The angel had her hand out and she swept it the side and the picture changed.

"This is the destruction that they will cause if we do not close the barrier," she spoke. Nicole looked at the picture and gasped. Even more black figures were hurriedly moving around. But this time it was modern. There were buildings and people. The bulidings were on fire and the people were running around in a horrified panic. Many lay on the ground dead, rotting. Others were running around stupidly screaming at their realization that they were rotting along with the dead corpses that lay on the ground.

Nicole turned away from the picture too shocked to watch anymore. She felt a hand on her shoulder a comforting hand.

"We need you."

"Yes, but what do I do?" Nicole asked, scared.

"You'll know, when the time comes." The angel began to fade, along with that wonderful feeling. The atmosphere began to grow cold and dark and Nicole could no longer feel the strength to hold herself up. She began to fall into the picture as it slowly began to change. She watched as that wonderful place she had just been in slowly moved out of her grasp. She felt hot. So incredibly hot. Her flesh seemed to be bubbling and when she looked, she found that it was. But she didn't care. She was too tired. She closed her eyes and waited for whatever it was that she inevitably knew was going to happen. She waited for the charred hands to take hold of her body and rip her limb from limb. Instead she felt a cold hand touch her hand gently. She opened her eyes and seen her boyfriend.

"You-you-"

"Shhh…" he said. "If they have found out that I have intercepted with the lines of communication then surely I will be of no use."

"What are you talking about?" Nicole asked, confused.

"There is no time to worry about that. Did she talk to you?"

"Who?"

"Jessica."

"Who's Jessica?"

"Jessica is your spirit guide. Your guardian angel. Whatever you want to call it."

"Yeah, I have."

"Then you know what to do. You and a few others hold the power that will close the barrier. It'll end, all of it."

"I keep hearing that, what is it?"

"There's no time. I will talk to you. All you need to do is follow your instincts. It could save your life." Then he was ripped away from Nicole. She had began to spiral back into reality.

3

She woke up crying. For the second time in her boyfriends death she had begun to feel like she missed him. She missed the wonderful feeling she received from that strange woman and the wonderful feeling she received from her boyfriend. Kelsey had said that he appeared somewhat rotten to her. But to Nicole he appeared just fine, perhaps even better.

She rolled over on her side and began to put the pieces together trying to figure out what they had said to her. Was it a prophecy? It had to be.

4

She knew what she had to do…almost.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

1

"Anthony, I need to talk to you," Nicole said. She looked into his hazel eyes. He looked back.

"What do you need?" He asked. His voice was warm, comforting. Something Nicole needed right now.

"I need you to keep Kelsey away from me." Her voice came out cold, almost flat.

"What? Why?"

"Don't ask questions. Just please do it."

"Ok…but can you tell me why?"

"No."

"Alright." He took her hand and looked her in the eye. "Anything for you." He smiled.

Nicole snapped her hand back. He looked hurt.

"Anthony…I can't…"

"She's dead…" Anthony said.

"What? Who?"

"Catherine. I found her body, but I haven't told anyone. She-she was so…" His eyes began to fill with tears.

"Oh, Anthony, I'm so…"

"No. It wasn't your fault. I'm just…"

"She was your best friend."

"Yeah. Nicole I'm so…scared…" I moved closer to him on the couch and wrapped my arms around him. I felt him fall against my body as he began to mourn his best friend's death. His body was warm against mine and it was almost nice feeling another human who felt what I felt so close to me. But something bothered me about what he said…he was scared…but why? Is there something he's not telling me?

2

"Anthony…you need to tell me how you found her body." After he calmed down they both sat quietly thinking their own thoughts. He moved uncomfortably on the couch.

"Nicole…I don't think I can…"

"Please, Anthony…why are you scared…what happened that made you feel this way?" He shifted again in his seat.

"This has been happening…a lot now…"

"What has? Tell me."

"I smelt something odd…something really…

3

…disgusting. Anthony moved further down the trail. He had been exploring in a nearby forest for a place he and his friends could hang out. Something wasn't right. Something about that smell. He moved cautiously down the trail making sure not to trip over any upturned roots or loose rocks. Then it hit him full force.

"Ugh…" He pulled his long sleeved shirt over his mouth and tried not to gag. He looked behind him and then back in front of him. It was darker now. He swallowed and continued to move down the clustered trail. Every where he walked there were loose rocks and branches. Roots and leaves covered the trail making it that much harder for him to navigate.

"Anthony…come here…" A voice called up ahead. It sounded familiar to him. He walked a little faster still keeping an eye on the trail.

"What!" He called ahead.

"…Over here…." The voice was so familiar why couldn't he figure it out. It was just beyond his grasp.

"Where?" He called through his sleeve.

"…down…"

"You're too far! I can't-can't here you!" He yelled. Branches. Branches were everywhere. They clawed at him. They tugged at his shirt, his pants, and his flesh, for him to turn back. But he had to figure out who was calling for him.

He stopped. Everything became cleared. There were no more branches, no more leaves, roots, rocks, nothing. Just a clearing. And there stood Catherine.

"Catherine…what are you doing…" She turned around and looked at Anthony. She was beautiful. She slowly walked toward Anthony and continued to look him straight in the eye.

"Uh…what…what…" Anthony tried.

"Shhh…" She pressed her lips gently against his. He felt her warm body slide against his and couldn't help but begin to feel aroused. She caressed his mouth with her tongue and he did the same. He placed his hands on her waist as she placed her hands on his belt buckle. Slowly she began to unbutton his pants.

But then he smelt it…that putrid smell. He tried not to let it bother him.

He moved his hand to her breast and gently squeezed. She let out a moan.

There it was again. This time it was stronger. He felt as if he would pass out from the smell.

"Catherine…wait…what's that smell?" She stopped and smirked. She put her finger to her lip and began to tap.

"I don't know…"

"Ugh…no you do. What is it?" She began to laugh. She threw her head back and just laughed. Her strawberry blonde hair shook with her heaving laughter.

"Catherine…what are you…" Then she stopped. She looked at him and began to cough. She fell to her knees and coughed long hacking coughs. Her face turned a deep red.

"Oh my God…" Anthony knelt beside her and began to pound at her back. She continued to cough as tears streamed down her red, sweaty face.

"What's going on?" He screamed over her hacking coughs. Finally she began to gag as something slowly trailed out of her mouth. It was shiny, whatever it was, and it was jet black. Blacker than anything Anthony had ever seen before.

She kept gagging until finally she stopped and began to pull at whatever was coming out of her mouth. She cried as she pulled and Anthony watched in amazement at whatever was coming out of her mouth. Finally it ended and she shook the remains off her fingers. She looked at Anthony, eyes red with tears. But Anthony didn't look back. He was watching as the black substance began to solidify. It moved itself closer together.

"AHHHHH!" Catherine's scream brought Anthony back to reality. He looked at her and seen that something began to protrude from her abdominal area. She put her hands to her abdomen and looked at Anthony scared. She continued to scream until finally she just stopped. She pulled her shirt up and seen her flesh begin to tear apart. Her pale skin slowly turned purple. It had stretched to the point where it was about to burst. Then something tore open her flesh and began to crawl its way toward the substance. Anthony looked around her body; she was now lying on her back and looking at the sky. Pieces of her flesh were scattered throughout the clearing and the smell was getting worse. Her whole midsection was obliterated and you could see her organs…or what was left of them.

She turned her head slowly toward Anthony.

"Go…" She said. Anthony shook his head and took a step closer. She smiled and nodded.

"Yes, go." He looked at her unsure. Then he turned and ran.

4

"You…saw them?" Nicole asked. He nodded his head. He had begun to cry again and she was holding him.

"Anthony," Nicole begun, "Did you have a…"

"Dream?" He finished. "Yes." She was almost relieved but frightened at the same time.

"Does it make sense to you?" She asked.

"No. I don't know what to do. I saw Catherine, though, she was so beautiful. She told me not to worry…follow my instincts or something. What are we supposed to do, Nicole?"

I rubbed his back gently and with care. Because I didn't know.

5

He told her to follow her instincts and her first instinct was to call Anthony. She didn't know why she chose Anthony…it was just a feeling I guess you could say. When she first walked into his house she felt like it would be all right. Like she would finally get answers.

She looked at Anthony and something unseen passed between the both of them. An understanding. She knew about Catherine even before he told her and he knew about Aric before she told him. It was something that only they shared. A secret.

They would talk to each other and already know how the conversation ended. There was no need for words…it was just there. It hung over them like a cloud…whatever it was.

They didn't speak of it, nor did either of them really know what it was. It was just suddenly there…like Catherine and Aric were just there. They both knew they were there, they didn't speak of it… but every once in a while if you watched closely you could catch a glimpse of a smile from either one of them. It was just there.


End file.
